Festival checks re-issued after controversy

Insufficient checks issued to police officers who provided off-duty security at a festival in September have been re-issued, the event organizer said Wednesday.

Victor Hernandez, a city councilman who also serves as executive director of Fiestas del Llano, said all of the officers who worked the four-day event that ended Sept. 19 have been paid.

Within a week after the event, some police were not able to cash or deposit their checks because they had been drawn on an insufficient account. Some checks for 30 to 40 officers exceeded $200.

Hernandez was unable to confirm how many insufficient checks were issued. Police Chief Ken Walker said he had heard complaints that all of the officers who worked the event had been issued insufficient checks. Walker said the Police Department had no official involvement in the matter. The police worked on their off-duty hours.

Hernandez said the checks were issued from an account that receives corporate donations to the non-profit organization. He said he thought the account balance was sufficient to cover the checks when he signed them. He said a new bookkeeping system has been implemented to prevent a repeated occurrence.